Hour after hour, thousands of gallons of water pour from the hold of the ship while divers desperately try to plug the holes in the skin.
For three days the work went on untiringly as the salvage crew, fighting off weariness and cold, battled to lower the level of water in the hold. Sleep was unheard of--there was nowhere to sleep anyway--and the clanging of the pumps added to the cacophony of noise as patches were hammered home and plugs rammed into the myriad rivet and rust holes that were too small to be patched. But it soon became apparent that they were not going to win. Being volunteers they all had jobs to return to and, sadly, they packed their kitbags and boarded the salvage vessel for the run back to civilisation, tired, grimy, cold and beaten.
The pumps were not adequate to empty the shattered hull. The patches were not sufficient in number or design. And, worst of all, there were still thousands of as yet unseen holes which could not be patched until the hull had been lifted high enough to remove the sludge in the hold. The true dimensions of the salvage job were just becoming apparent and the enormity of it was depressing.
Two divers are working below--see hoses--while one rests
Through the gaping hole in the stern, the sandbag cofferdam can be seen.
However, once back in Sydney, enthusiasm again whipped up, and in the months that followed the dismay of those three days was forgotten in a surge of determination to get the ship before the rival museum in San Francisco. To their credit, the Americans had stood back to give the local museum a 'fair go' at the James Craig, so for that dedicated band it was no longer a question of whether or not the barque could be raised; she simply must be raised. The detailed records obtained on the last visit were computed into requirements and the cost thereof.
A lot of thought went into the question of pumping the flooded hull and even more effort was directed at getting support from manufacturers. By October the homework had been done. It was now or never! On 21 October 1972 a salvage team composed of museum members headed south with the one intention--to refloat the James Craig! The same salvage boat was chartered and loaded with massive pumps, compressors and salvage gear which had been sent down from Sydney. The Tasmanians, as enthusiastic as the Sydney team, offered voluntary assistance and, on 22 October, the James Craig once again felt the bumping and banging of hammers and drills and pumps.
The hold is full of coal sludge and must be hosed constantly to prevent the pumps from choking. Patched holes can be seen in the background.
Lacking proper equipment, the team use almost anything to plug the holes in the hull.
The biggest problem--patching the holes in the hull--took two forms. The gaping hole in the stern, about three metres across, could not be patched. The greatest inrush of water was through this hole so it had to be somehow sealed off. Tools were primitive and skilled labour non-existent so normal methods could not be adopted. The solution seemed to lie in sealing off the entire stern section of the ship--which took care of many major leak areas as well--and pumping the rest of the hull dry. A sandbag cofferdam, similar to those used to repair river banks breached by flood waters, proved the answer and, with a huge 60,000 gph pump hooked up through the stern and the major holes in the hull covered with prefabricated patches, the salvage operation began. Divers swam constantly under the hull plugging new holes as they came to light while smaller pumps were started to assist the big pump. Gradually--so very gradually--the water level in the hull started to go down. By now excitement was at fever pitch and for the next day sleep was forgotten as every man in the team rushed around the drying hull plugging leaks with anything that could be pressed into service.
At 5 am on 24 October the James Craig stirred gently and lifted herself from her sandy bed. For the first time in over forty years she was afloat again! The exuberance of the salvage team was quickly controlled as she swung her bow round and started to drift towards the entrance to the bay, seemingly anxious to get back out to sea again. But there was much to be done before that could be achieved and, wistfully, the team turned her back and beached her again. It was essential now to raise her higher and higher up the beach so that her hull could be examined properly. This would mean days of hard slogging getting the sludge out of the hold and getting her cleaned and patched. Indeed, there were months of work ahead before she could be towed back to her home port of Hobart, but nothing could now dampen the excitement that ran high through the salvage crew, for the refloating had proved one thing--her hull was intact under water.
As the pumps begin to take effect the ship begins to rise, slowly but surely.
